Over the past 3 years she's come down to London to visit me every couple of months, and I look forward to her visits enormously not only because we get to catch up face to face but because we're able to play at being tourists and shamelessly do all the stereotypically London things I normally avoid. One of my biggest regrets about my time at university here has been focussing too much on studying and not enough time getting to know the city. There's so much I haven't seen and done, so I relish my mum's visits as they give us the perfect opportunity to visit museums and galleries and theatres that normal university life didn't allow me the time to see.
This last visit was particularly special. I'm moving back to Cheshire this weekend, and thus this chapter of my life is coming to an end. Although I definitely plan on returning to London very soon, I'll never be in the city as a student again. As it's the end of an era we knew whatever we ended up doing would have to be special, and there's nothing more British and special than afternoon tea.
I spent ages looking for the right place before deciding on The Orangery at Kensington Palace.
Nestled in the gardens on the Kensington Palace grounds, The Orangery was built in 1704 by Queen Anne as an elaborate greenhouse to house her citrus trees and protect them from the harsh winters. The architecture and beautiful surroundings also made it the perfect venue for fashionable court entertaining away from the hustle and bustle of Whitehall.
We were ushered inside and led to our table right next to an open window overlooking the gardens.
Afternoon Tea originated when the Duchess, one of Queen Anne's ladies-in-waiting- developed a "sinking feeling" at four o'clock in the afternoon. To begin with, her servants would sneak a pot of tea and bread stuffs into her room but eventually she took to inviting friends to join her at five o'clock at Belvoir Castle. The menu consisted of sandwiches, small cakes, assorted sweets, and tea, and the practice proved so popular that the Duchess continued it when she returned to London. Thus, the art of Afternoon Tea was born.
The first port of call after marvelling over our surroundings was to order our tea. The Orangery has an impressive selection but we were won over by the classics - very predictably - opting for a Royal London Blend and Palace Breakfast.
Followed by the best part…
Starting from the bottom and working our way up, we began with a selection of sandwiches, including egg mayonnaise and cress; cucumber and mint; honey roasted ham and English mustard; and my personal favourite smoked salmon and cream cheese. I always did have expensive taste!
We moved on to orange-scented and current scones served with Cornish clotted cream and English strawberry jam. These were incredible: just the right size, beautifully soft, and lifted by the hint of orange.
By this stage I was filling up rapidly! LighterLife has done a good job on shrinking my stomach over the last few weeks and so I really started to struggle, as pathetic as that sounds!
After a long tea break we shared the cakes on the top layer - which included a simply amazing passion fruit tart - but I regrettably left my slice of Victoria sponge as I'd reached my limit. I wish I could have finished it though as the forkful I tried tasted insanely good!
We emerged into the sunshine and decided to go for a stroll around the gardens to try and walk off some of the cake. Kensington Palace gardens are super beautiful, so we spent ages admiring the flowers and water features (well I did - mum's a bit of a horticultural whizz so she geeked out over the grass and hedges while I simply marvelled at all the colours…).
The afternoon sun was getting a bit much, so we retreated into Kensington Palace (when in Rome and all that…) to see the Fashion Rules exhibition.
Although there were a number of amazing dresses from the Queen, Princess Margaret and Princess Diana on display, I was a little disappointed with the exhibition as a whole. As far as I'm concerned there was a lot of hype over nothing, and I certainly wouldn't make a special trip to Kensington Palace just to see this.
The beauty of Kensington Palace, however, is everything else on show, so I'd recommend grabbing a map and checking out every floor. From Queen Victoria to George I each room is steeped in rich history and I had goosebumps pretty much the whole way round. It's history nerd and British monarchy fan heaven, so I was in my element!
What a day! Brains and stomachs full, and a little bit sunburnt in my case, we scurried off to the tube for an impromptu theatre trip (5* for Miss Saigon, which I will be blogging about soon…). I couldn't have asked for a better girly day out with my mum, and this proved to be the perfect way to celebrate the end of the summer / university life / London Part 1.
Here's to our next adventure!
The Orangery
10.00 - 17.00, every day
020 3166 6113
Afternoon Tea starts from £24 per person
Fashion Rules
10.00 - 18.00, every day
1st March 2014 - 28th February 2015
Kensington Palace
Kensington Gardens
London
W8 4PX
I really enjoyed this post and your photos. Thanks Emma,
ReplyDeleteLena